Two weeks to triumph

Build a Plane contest winners get down to the business of building airplanes

June 19, 2013

ByJill W. Tallman

Eight teenagers got down to business on their first day of a two-week odyssey in which they will help to build two Glasair kit airplanes.

The teens, who attend high schools in Michigan and Minnesota, arrived in Arlington, Wash., on June 16 after winning an aircraft design competition sponsored by Build a Plane and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association. They will spend two weeks at the Glasair factory in Arlington, working alongside mentors and company representatives who will shepherd them through Glasair’s Two Weeks to Taxi program. At the end of two weeks, the students will have completed two Glasair Sportsman four-place airplanes, which are scheduled to be on display at EAA AirVenture 2013.

One airplane is privately owned, and the other will be jointly owned by Build a Plane and GAMA. It will be positioned on the East Coast, where it can travel to airshows and fly-ins on behalf of Build a Plane. The nonprofit promotes aviation and aerospace education, primarily by helping schools to obtain donated airplanes that can be built or restored by students.

The students’ day started with a 7 a.m. briefing in which they learned that even though their airplanes’ composite fuselages are already bonded together, plenty remains to be done—including driving 5,000 rivets.

There are sound financial reasons for aircraft ownership. Beyond the money saved on overnight trips, delays caused by airlines, and other miscellaneous expenses, owning an airplane has definite tax advantages.